If you have chronic pain including fibromyalgia, osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis, read on to see a different focus and why a good night sleep can help you reduce pain.

3 proven ways to sleep better!

Food 

This is not a lecture on what to eat. We have cravings for a reason! Different hormones need different foods.  According to the Sleep Foundation, foods like kiwi, tart cherries, chamomile and rice can improve sleep.  Spicy foods like curry or peppers can warm your body temperature and keep you awake.  Herbs are powerhouses of nutrition, and if you want to use them as a supplement and for sleep, get the right herbs from a board certified herbalist. 

Meditation

Neurological research shows relaxing through meditation can provide an extra hour of restful sleep a night!  Scientific case studies show a dramatic rise in melatonin with people practicing meditation. Even 5 minutes a day can increase your sleep quality and lessen your pain.  Maybe you want to use a salt lamp or music to relax, but meditation is just breathing… but better. 

Acupuncture

3000 years and going strong, acupuncture increases natural melatonin which helps you sleep. Not many people like needles, but acupuncture is different, needles so thin that most people do not realize they are in, and feel incredibly relaxed. Randomized trials with almost 4000 patients experiencing insomnia had significant differences in sleep quality and duration of sleep from having acupuncture done. That is pretty awesome.

These are 3 great ways to get a better night’s sleep, and alleviate pain! 

Check out these case studies

The influence of sleep health    on dietary intake: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12813

Krause, A. J., Prather, A. A., Wager, T. D., Lindquist, M. A., & Walker, M. P. (2019). The Pain of

Sleep Loss: A Brain Characterization in Humans. The Journal of Neuroscience,  https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2408-18.2018

The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and     meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13996

References 

Bruehl, S., Chung, O. Y., Jirjis, J. N., & Biridepalli, S. (2005). Prevalence of clinical hypertension
    in patients with chronic pain compared to nonpain general medical patients. The Clinical
    journal of pain, 21(2), 147–153. https://doi.org/10.1097/00002508-200503000-00006

Cao, H., Pan, X., Li, H., & Liu, J. (2009). Acupuncture for treatment of insomnia: a systematic
    review of randomized controlled trials. Journal of alternative and complementary
    medicine (New York, N.Y.), 15(11), 1171–1186. https://doi.org/10.1089/acm.2009.0041

Fenton, S., Burrows, T. L., Skinner, J. A., & Duncan, M. J. (2021). The influence of sleep health
    on dietary intake: a systematic review and meta-analysis of intervention studies. Journal
    of human nutrition and dietetics : the official journal of the British Dietetic Association,
    34(2), 273–285. https://doi.org/10.1111/jhn.12813

Krause, A. J., Prather, A. A., Wager, T. D., Lindquist, M. A., & Walker, M. P. (2019). The Pain of
    Sleep Loss: A Brain Characterization in Humans. The Journal of Neuroscience, 39(12),
    2291–2300. https://doi.org/10.1523/jneurosci.2408-18.2018

Rusch, H. L., Rosario, M., Levison, L. M., Olivera, A., Livingston, W. S., Wu, T., & Gill, J. M.
    (2019). The effect of mindfulness meditation on sleep quality: a systematic review and
    meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Annals of the New York Academy of
    Sciences, 1445(1), 5–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.13996